Entries in Neanderthal
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Photo Courtesy - Allison Shelley/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Sarah Palin responded Wednesday night to Rick Santorum’s speculation as to why she is not attending the conservative gathering, Conservative Political Action Conference, saying he was “uninformed” to suggest she has “other business opportunities.”

“I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal that perhaps others would want to call him. I’ll let his wife call him that instead,” Palin told Sean Hannity on Fox News.

Earlier this week, former Pennyslvania GOP Senator Santorum took a swipe at Palin's decision to skip the conference saying, “I have a feeling that she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them.”

Despite clearly disagreeing with Santorum, Palin took issue with the media’s response to his comments.

“I think the reports were much worse than what he really said. I think some things were maybe taken out of context,” she said.

The former Alaska governor reiterated why she decided not to attend CPAC, which is considered by many the unofficial kickoff for the 2012 GOP election campaign.

“I’ve never been to CPAC," she said. "I don’t know what the big brouhaha is this go-round. ... I don’t know why anybody would think it’s that big of a darn deal not to be there this time.”

Santorum, a father of seven, also suggested that Palin’s responsibilities as a mother might prevent her from attending the conference.

“I’m not the mother to all these kids and I don’t have other responsibilities that she has,” he said.

The famous "Mama Grizzly" replied, “I’m the proud mother of five children and my kids don’t hold me back from attending a conference.”﻿